The IVF Fertility Blog

Placing women between the ages of 38 and 42 on the fast-track to IVF is typically the most effective treatment option. Look: Moving past other first-line alternative treatments – such as Timed Intercourse and IUI – and going straight to IVF has been proven to increase an older woman’s chances of conceiving faster. Bottom Line: IVF saves older couples from the financial, physical, and emotional stress of repeated failed infertility treatment cycles.

IVF Treatment for Older Couples

In the case of older couples – between 38 and 42 – with unexplained infertility, a recent study favored going straight to IVF treatment. What does this recent research show?

IVF is the most cost-efficient treatment

IVF results in fewer treatment cycles

IVF results in less multiple pregnancies

IVF results in higher live birth rates

Researchers have found that older women were more than twice as likely to become pregnant through IVF within the first two cycles of treatment. The best part? They were twice as likely to have a healthy baby from their IVF pregnancy.

National Institutes of Health (NIH) Funded IVF Study

A randomized clinical study by NIH analyzed 154 couples who had been trying to get pregnant for six months before seeking infertility treatment.

The female study criteria included:

Between the ages of 38 and 42

Regular menstrual cycles

At least one functioning ovary

At least one open Fallopian tube

Acceptable ovarian reserve

No reproductive organ disorders

No history of ectopic pregnancy

The couples were randomly assigned to one of three groups:

IVF using injectable fertility medications to stimulate egg production

IUI using oral fertility medication to stimulate egg production

IUI using injectable fertility medications to stimulate egg production

Within two cycles of treatment, here’s the deal:

49 percent of the IVF patients became pregnant and 31 percent gave birth!

Only 22 percent of IUI patients using oral medication became pregnant

Only 16 percent of IUI patients using oral medications gave birth

Only 17 percent of IUI patients using injectable medications became pregnant

Only 14 percent of IUI patients using injectable medications gave birth

What happened to those patients who failed IUI and went on to IVF treatment?

71 percent experienced a clinical pregnancy through IVF treatment

46 percent gave birth to a healthy baby through IVF treatment

Here’s the deal. Statistics from this study prove IVF is the preferred first-time treatment protocol for older women.

84 percent – a clear majority – of women gave live birth through IVF

An average of only two IVF cycles were needed for these woman to conceive

Those women who underwent IUI before IVF took an average of three to four IVF cycles to conceive